Revenue generation increases by 9pc in six months: minister

LAHORE:Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht has said that the province has witnessed an increase of 9 percent in indigenous revenue generation in the first six months of ongoing fiscal year despite the covid-19 relief was given to the industries and taxpayers.

The minister observed that despite the reduction in tax rates, Punjab sales tax on services increased by 45 per cent, motor vehicle registration improved by 46 percent, the tax on immovable property, farmhouses and luxury houses has been collected at 63 per cent of the estimated revenue.

Furthermore, the Punjab Revenue Authority collected 60 per cent of the estimated revenue in the budget 2020-21, Excise and Taxation collected 53 percent and the Board of Revenue collected 48 percent, the minister said while chairing the 4th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Resource Mobilization here on Wednesday.

He appreciated the performance of the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) on 45 percent increase GST on services during the first half of the fiscal year. He also backed up the performance of the Excise and Taxation department on achieving an increase of Rs2.2 billion in property tax demand.

The minister instructed the excise and taxation department to ensure the issuance of number plates and increase in vehicle registration besides reviewing the rate of registration fee. The growth rate of collections in PRA and Excise and Taxation was positive while in the Board of Revenue it was negative. The decline in economic activity due to Corona affected recovery rates, he said and asked the Board of Revenue (BoR) to improve its performance of revenue collection and the revenue targets sets on the request of department should not be missed by the end of the fiscal year.

The minister directed the BoR to improve the collection of Agriculture Income Tax. He instructed the excise and taxation department to speed up the survey for property tax so that the defaulters can be brought into the tax net in the next financial year.

Punjab Revenue Authority should assess the impact on industries for resolving issues related to infrastructure development, he said. Earlier, the Finance Secretary apprised the meeting of the steps taken in the first three sessions of the Resource Mobilization Committee and said the business model set up to make Wasa self-sufficient has been sent to the cabinet for approval. The finance department will be able to save Rs 6.2 billion, he said and added in-principle approval of self-sufficiency model has also been taken for e-service centres in Punjab.